story by: Todd McLeishA study conducted by a University of Rhode Island economist has concluded that the planning, construction and operation of wind turbines in Rhode Island does not depress nearby property values.

Corey Lang, URI assistant professor of natural resource economics, analyzed the sale prices of 48,000 homes in Rhode Island over the last 15 years and compared homes near one of the state’s 12 wind turbines to homes far from the turbines. He found that the turbines may cause a drop in property values of 0.4 percent for those homes within a half mile of a turbine, which is well within the study’s margin of error.

“Proximity to a turbine has no statistical effect on property values,” said Lang, who has done a number of studies of housing markets and environmental values.